- Joined
- Feb 23, 1999
- Messages
- 4,855
The Tibetan culture is a hardy one, formed by a harsh and unforgiving climate and terrain. The culture spreads beyond the political lines delineating modern Tibet. As the people there wander the high plateaus and mountain passes, they often carry small sturdy knives. The knives are all-purpose, used for utility, self defense, offense, etc.
In the regions surrounding Tibet one often encounters gaudy and inexpensively made imitations of the Tibetan knives. It is quite a bit more difficult to get a sturdy, functional Tibetan knife.
Here is a new handforged one I bought in the land of Kham back in 2004.
It was forged in a shop not all that different from the HI factories. This land of Kham is known for its big and fierce men, and its knife culture. Bill first introduced this particular knife to the forum in this old thread.
Here is another shown to me by a fellow in Kathmandu, who roamed the hills and valleys of Nepal and Tibet. This one is interesting because of the penetration of the middle of the handle, for attaching a lanyard.
As you can see from the two examples I showed, there is not a common pattern, but there are similarities in sheath, in size, and in design. There are also many variations, as would be expected for handcrafted items made over a wide geographical region. There may be different names for the different types of Tibetan knives, but if so I do not know them. Perhaps Yangdu does.
The imitations all seem to look somewhat alike, and none of them have the spirit of a good Tibetan knife. Perhaps part of the value of these knives is that good ones are so difficult to come by.
In the regions surrounding Tibet one often encounters gaudy and inexpensively made imitations of the Tibetan knives. It is quite a bit more difficult to get a sturdy, functional Tibetan knife.
Here is a new handforged one I bought in the land of Kham back in 2004.
It was forged in a shop not all that different from the HI factories. This land of Kham is known for its big and fierce men, and its knife culture. Bill first introduced this particular knife to the forum in this old thread.
Here is another shown to me by a fellow in Kathmandu, who roamed the hills and valleys of Nepal and Tibet. This one is interesting because of the penetration of the middle of the handle, for attaching a lanyard.
As you can see from the two examples I showed, there is not a common pattern, but there are similarities in sheath, in size, and in design. There are also many variations, as would be expected for handcrafted items made over a wide geographical region. There may be different names for the different types of Tibetan knives, but if so I do not know them. Perhaps Yangdu does.
The imitations all seem to look somewhat alike, and none of them have the spirit of a good Tibetan knife. Perhaps part of the value of these knives is that good ones are so difficult to come by.
